Sign-holder.



' c. A. WOODRUFF & G. E. MCBLROY.

` SIGN'HOLDER. y Y i n ArrLruAnoN 11mm ums, mo.

k972,312.f- APzrvbented 0ot.'11,1910.

another-one substituted for it. Usually the UNITED gs'iiirns PATENT ernten. f

CHARLES A. WOODRUFF AND GEORGE E. MCELROY. OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SIGN-HOLDER.

To all whom 'it may concern: Y

Be it. known that we, Ciiiiiirns A. Woon RUM` and GEoiion E. ).Ioliniior, of the city of Newark, county of Essex. and State of N ew Jersey, have invented a new- :ind useful Improvement in Siginl'lolders, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. f f i Our invention relates to improvements in devices for holding display signs or cards and more 'particularly for holding suoli signs or cards :is are used in connection with antomobiles or other vehiclesf and particularly the license tags or cards of such vehicles. l r

It is desirable Vto hold the display or license cards or signs of automobiles in such a way that they will be prominently dis` lared; it is also desirable 'and in some lShiites a legal requirement, that the tags or cards be held well above the ground so that. they will not be obscured by dust; and it is also necessary to provide a convenient and quick means for' securing the Cardin place so that in passing from one State to another. the card or sign can be easily removed and methods for att-aching these signs, tags,l or cards, is crude, and the attachment is made ywith considerable difficulty.

The object of our invention is to produce a very sim le and yet secure holding device which can he clamped to the spring or other convenient part o the vehicle, such as an automobile, to rovide ineans` for instantly insertin and firmly securing the sign in the hol ing device, further to provide :in adjusting arrangement by which the sign can he easily I.placed in a vertical position so as to be prominently displayed without regard to the wosition or pitch of its siipport, and final y to arrange the holding device so that it can be easily swiveled or turned laterally in order that a clear space may be left in case one wishes to crank the machine.

Another object of our invention is to secure the above results in ii very simple., posi-V tive and inexpensive way so that the holder will not be :in expensive luxury.

With these ends in view and with the gein eral object of prfxliicing a satisfactory sign -hold`er which can be easily z ttached to a vehicle and which will properly display the sign or card, our invention consists of :i sign loldei adapted to yieldingly but securely Patented oei.. 11, ieio.

orooved transversely as 'shown clearly .ii

hold the card and means for attachment to a vehicle. the details of which will be liei'einafte'r described and the novel features claimed. Y

Reference is to behad to the atxzoinpanying drawings forming a part of'tliis-speciti `cation, in which similar reference characters one. below the otliei'ptliese being niovaf-lz in relation to each other, and as shown thev lower one is'noifmally stationary while. the upper one moves. The -lower jaw muv. however, be turned on the post 12, heit-f iiiafter described. The jaws are profis-ahi.;

liig. 1 so that the sign which is in the forni usually of a metal sheet or card, 'can ne easily slipped into the grooves, thus being held securelv by the walls of the grooves' against displacement foi-'ward or l):ick,wliilc' the pi'essnreoftlie jaws toward each other will n prevent the sign from slipping lengthw' As a convenient 'ay of mounting the jaw.-. they can he provided with a vertical pnst 1Q, which is fixed to a support and onwliich the jaws slide, the npperjaw' being normally pressed downward h v a sprinlg 13 which coils around -tlie upper end o. the post between the upper jaw and an al1-utnient which can conveniently he a init as 14. Thus tht,l sign 11 is held iiriiiiy1 by 'the pressure of the spring 13 and when it is Gil rearwardly extending shank l5 which is fast to the posi' 1;. and while this shank may v bc rigid. it is [n.'cfci'ably jointedas shown at ll' so that aiiextc'nsioii l5* beyond the joint. connects with the clamp 19 to be presently referred to. while 'the joint may he tightened and the parts l5 and l5* made rigid by means of a suitable thninh holt i8. The object of the joint in the shank is lo provide for tipping the sign-holder 'nacio v Kill i mits the holder to be regulated with rela- `ltion to its elainp`or support.

So far as thisinvention is concerned, the

'iforin of the shank or of its supporting clamp is not very material, althoufh we claim the forni shown. As illustrate the member of the shank terminates in aclainping piecei20, which abuts willie corresponding member and each member has'vertical parts 21 am overlapping tlanges 22, so that the opposed members may be. conveniently made to grasp the spring of the vehicle or vsome other convenient part. After the pai-ts 20 and 20 aie placed upon the spring or other support, they can l tightened by `means of the screw 26 which extends throng i the boss on the member 20, and is threaded into the boss 24 on the member 21. From the foregoing description it will be seen first, that the clam i can be very readily applied to the spring o a vehicle or tosoine. part beneath the liody,`tliat the holder can be readily adjusted so as to assume a vertical position and can be fastened bylineans of the holt 18, and that by lifting the upper jaw 10'* the. sign 11 can readily lie placed in position or removed. n. p

Where the device is arranged un the front part of a vehicle, it is sometimes desirable to turn thev sign laterally to provide'for easy access te the crank,.and in order that.V this may be donc we have siiown the lower jaw lt) provided with a rib 10'u (see Fig. 2) which lits iii a corresponding groove of the shank 15, so that, by simply grasping the sign and the upper jaw 10 and turning the `device laterally, the. rib will ride up over the walls of its retaining groove and permit the Idesired turning movement, and, after erahking the machine, the jaws and signcan be turned hack when they will be held in the proper relation bv the rihV and its groove, the rib being held in place by the pressure of the spring 13.

It. will be distinctly understoial that theim iortant thing in the invention is to proviile a holding device which will secure the sign or card in the right position in relation to the vehicle and in such a way thaty the sign can he readily placed in' position or removed.

- The various details-and accessories which we have shown are desirable to make the holder easy to operate and ad just, but these details can lie changed considerably without in the least affecting the principle. of the invention.

Having thus fully described our iiivention, we claim as new and desire to stx-,ure by Letters Patentrf l.. In a sign holder the combin-.ition of a clamp having overlapping flanges and hav- Iiected to the extension, a post supported by the shank, a lower jaw loosely mounted on the post, means for holding the lower jaw against rotation, an upper jaw loosely mounted on the post, said jaws being provided with transverse grooves to rtafeive the sign; and means for adjiistably holding the upper jaw in engagement. with the sign.

2. `In a signv holder the combination of a clamp having overlapping flanges and having an extension, a shank :uljustably con-r nected to the extension and carrying a postadapted to hold the sign in a vertical position, a lower jaw supported by the post, an upper jaw slidably mounted on'the post, said jaws being provided with transverse grooves to receive the sign, the posts terniinating with an abutment, and a coil spring interposed between the abutment and the by said jaws.

'ing an extension, a shank pivotally kcon- Y sor 3. In a sign holder, the (amibination of an adjustable clamp having an extension, a

shank verticaiiy adjustabiy connected to the.

extension, the shank being provided with u groove in its upper side, a post supported by the shank at right angles thereto, a lower jaw loosely mounted on the post and having a tongue adapted to register with the groove in the shank, an upper jaw loosely mounted on the post, said jaws being provided with transversely extending grooves to receive the sign, ay nut secured on the end of the post, and a spring encircling the post interposed between the nut and the upper jaw whereby the upper and lower edges of the. sign are held trinly by said jaws.

CHARLES A. WOODRUFF. GEORGE E. MoELROY.

Witnesses:

.Limes C. MoEnnoY, WnJJAM J. Cooun'riir. 

